Life lessons every graduating IMT-Ghaziabad, Batch of 2018 should know

Dear Batch of 2018,

Pat your back fellow IMTians, you are now the newest alums in the crown of IMT-Ghaziabad. From securing admissions to overcoming the rigors and challenges tossed at you in the last two years, you have finally achieved this feat. You now hold the coveted degree of the institute that reflects its strong legacy and are ready to take on the corporate world.

Congratulations on graduating from IMTG and welcome to the corporate world.

Before you officially join it, I thought I'd probably share some of my thoughts with you so that you can take better decisions for your future and make a life that you want to live, not others want you to.

I know some of you are unplaced out there. Some of you aren't happy with your placements. Some of you are better qualified academically and talented and feel envious of some of your better-placed friends. Some of you are extremely demotivated and feel cheated by the system of selection and placements, tensing out for your pride and future that is scaring the shit out of you. Trust me, I know how it feels. I know how it hurts. I know how life's unfair too. I know it's not easy. It's not going to be easy. Yet, I must tell you that what everyone tells. Placements are not a reflection of your capabilities and talent. They are just factorization of chance luck on a particular day that some of your colleagues got what you always wanted. However, what I must tell you more is, the sooner you accept it, the better placed you will be in life, wherever you are. Afterall, IMT-Ghaziabad prepared you for life, not for placements. If you have it in you, you'll figure it out and excel in life no matter where you start from, how you start it.

Now those of you who have got placements, guys, you'll sooner or later join your jobs. But I tell you what, a few months into it, you'll realize if it's really worth it. Sometimes you'll be fighting mediocrity, other times you'll be struggling with stagnation. Some of you will feel intellectually dumb and some of you totally useless. However, the paycheck and loans will keep you going at it. Well, to you, I must tell you that you must not compromise. If you don't get that satisfaction from it, find it somewhere else. Search for it. Trust me, going on with a job without an internal satisfaction may drive you for 5 years of drudgery but you know, it will screw up 50 years of your life. You can't afford that, can you?

Lastly, most important, those of you who have dreams, guys, don't let the money be the reason for their failures. It may be tough, but if you have the zeal and desire to pursue it, please chase them. Manali Guha did, Dharmil Seth and many more have done it, you can do it too. Success or failure isn't guaranteed, yes, but in a life that's too short, an attempt for dreams is a must. Hey, you're an MBA from IMT-Ghaziabad, guys, even if you fail you can always go back to the corporate world.

Somebody on facebook at the convocation wrote, 'Life, what next?'

To him and all of you, I say 'It's time, why don't you decide?'

Best of luck.